Gnocchi can be prepared in a hundred different ways. This is a recipe from the province of Monza-Brianza and the delicate combination of potatoes and Gorgonzola with the added nutty flavor of roasted pumpkin is truly irresistible.

Ingredients: Serves 4

I kg local Tanna potatoes I 1 egg I 200gm blue cheese I Handful of watercress I 100ml white wine I 50gm butter I 300gm manioc flour I 250ml cream I 300gm butter pumpkin I handful wild rocket I 40gm slice garlic I 20ml olive oil I salt and pepper to taste.

Gnocchi:

Peel 1 kg of potatoes and boil until soft. While still hot, mash them and leave to cool in a bowl, then add one egg, a pinch of salt, 300gm manioc flour, and mix until you get a soft dough, not too moist. Leave the dough to rest in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Flour the work surface, knead the dough into cylinders with a diameter of one finger and cut into small equal pieces. Dip them in plenty of boiling salted water, a few at a time and, as soon as they come to the surface, drain and cool them in water and ice to stop the cooking process.

Sauce:

In a saucepan heat 300ml of cream over a low flame, add half the cheese and let it melt. Cook for a few moments, adding a sprinkle of pepper.

In the meantime, clean the butternut pumpkin, cut into cubes and place in a baking tray. Drizzle with the olive oil and add the sliced garlic. Roast till tender at 180c.

Melt the butter in a heavy non-stick pan, add the Gnocchi and cook for 3 minutes, deglazing with white wine. Add the blue cheese sauce, season to taste and quickly mix well before taking it off the heat.

Serve the gnocchi in your favourite dish and place the roasted pumpkin and garlic on top with the remaining blue cheese sauce. You can also add some shaved parmigiano reggiano cheese as an option.

Ristorante Casa Mia. Located at the Melanesian Hotel, Casa Mia is not your average Italian restaurant and the owners have gone to great lengths to turn this establishment into something special from the very start. When you enter Casa Mia, you enter ‘old Italy’. Pillars reminiscent of the Colosseum and Roman ruins salute you at the entrance, and once inside, you enter an old Italian stone house, with its crumbling stone facade and big barn-type doors. With a long history working for some of Melbourne’s finest Italian restaurants, Tyrone Mann is Casa Mia’s Executive Chef and he surely knows his Italian food. Home-made pastas, home-made bread and antipasto platters are all on the menu, which focuses on sourcing local and fresh ingredients. The menu is extensive and has all the choice you would expect from a restaurant in Italy. A great selection of pastas, risottos, salads, and antipastos. For the heavy-weight mains, all the Italian classics are there, such as ‘Filetto di Manzo’ or ‘Polpette di Vitello Italiana’ and for the fish lovers, the ‘Fritto Misto’, or ‘Snapper di Arrosto’ are delicious. Of course, classic Italian desserts grace the menu to finish off a great meal. Well-priced without compromising on quality, a must try.